Hundredth birthday | An unpublished work by Riopelle exhibited at the Biosphere

An original work by Jean Paul Riopelle will be premiered on Saturday at the Montreal Biosphere as part of Riopelle – A Free Bird, an interactive and immersive exhibition to mark the artist’s 100th anniversary.

Created in 1990, when Jean Paul Riopelle’s physical abilities were diminished, the mixed media work on wood is presented to the public with objects that once belonged to the artist who died in 2002.

At the time of creating this orphan work by name, Jean Paul Riopelle was painting above a table using items he recycled and reused, such as horseshoes, fishing nets and stencils of animals.

Director General and General Commissioner of the Centennial Celebrations of the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation, Manon Gauthier points out that “the more the physical state of Jean Paul Riopelle decreased, the more he innovated in his creation”.

Visitors will also hear Riopelle symphonique, an original musical creation by Serge Fiori and Blair Thompson inspired by the life and work of the artist.

For the president of GSI Musique, Nicolas Lemieux, who participated in the creation of this 75-minute musical piece played by the Orchester symphonique de Montréal, the exhibition is an invitation to dive into the artist’s universe. “We mixed the symphonic aspect, the innovation aspect with the interactivity of the installations and, of course, the creation aspect of Riopelle. It creates a cocktail that we do not often see. »

The collective creation Riopelle – A Free Bird is based on the artist’s love for Île aux Grues and for the flocks of snow geese, explains Ms. Gauthier. “There is a universal theme in Riopelle’s art: the symbolism of the goose going away and coming back. Just like Riopelle, who has moved around a lot throughout his career. »

The curator recalls that it is the duty of the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation to “continue to spread its love for nature and to transmit the migration aspect to young citizens”.

This is why the Espace pour la vie museum complex, in collaboration with the International Youth Offices of Quebec, called on 12 young people aged 18 to 35 to create “Migration”, a section of the exhibition in which there are reproductions inspired by the migratory movement represented in the works of Riopelle.

The director of the Biosphere, Isabelle Germain, is proud to host this exhibition, which respects the mission of the museum. “What interested us was to highlight the nature aspect of Riopelle’s art, which is central to the mission of the Biosphere. »

Located on Île Sainte-Hélène, the exhibition is some 300 km from Île aux Grues, where Jean Paul Riopelle lived until his death.